Author Archive | Maren Nelson

To continue on with our subject, I want to share with you the story I shared with my friend and client, Cindra many years ago…

Somewhere, I heard the story of a business man and a homeless man. Every day the business man went to work and at the end of the workday, he would see this homeless man standing on the street near his office. Every day the business man would stop and give the homeless man a dollar. The homeless man was always exceedingly grateful.

One day the homeless man stopped the business man and told him how much his kindness had meant to him. He explained he had once had his own business and a family. He had not come to his circumstance through alcohol or mental problems. However, by a cruel stream of events in his life, he had lost everything.

With tears in his eyes, the homeless man said there were many days he had felt there was no reason to go on with life. This one act of kindness the business man showed him every day had kept him going.

The business man took the other man to get something to eat and while sitting with him recognized this man was honest and good. The business man offered him a job. It wouldn’t pay much in the beginning, but there was opportunity for advancement. The homeless man gratefully accepted.

What neither of these men consciously knew was that before incarnating in this lifetime, the homeless man had made an agreement with the business man that he would take on the role as the homeless person so that the business man would have the opportunity to choose to experience giving compassion to another human being. It was a lesson his soul wanted to learn.

I share this story as an example of the statement that giving and receiving are, in truth, one and the same. In giving, we also receive, and in receiving, we also give.

Open your minds to the love that is shared in both giving and receiving and your hearts to doing so without judgment of others or yourself as better or lesser than. And allow yourself to remember your passion during this New Year.

Best, Maren Nelson
Minister of Mind/Body Healing
Life Breath Integrations
310-977-0044

What a lovely post, Maren. I agree completely and have had similar experiences. I think it is especially important that you bring this up to remind us to always come from that place no matter what. We so often forget and go into reaction when someone lashes out at us and that only makes things worse…and it takes us out of Love. This lesson, one of so many I was introduced to in my work with you, has served me very well. Thanks to my guides, it is one I am still given opportunities to work on! 🙂

This brings to mind another lesson we worked on. Perhaps you could also comment on what constitutes a loving act as well. Something that I have had to learn in my life is that just because what you’re doing looks like a loving act of kindness, that doesn’t always mean it serves the highest good of the other person or yourself. Which, to me, means it is not truly loving.

As I have become more aware of this and more comfortable with my process of questioning whether my action serves the highest good, I have begun to observe around me others engaging in what I would have, in the past, believed was a loving act. Now, however, I am beginning to be able to discern when these seemingly loving acts are really done from a very self-serving place with little regard for the highest good of the receiver of the act. This discernment has served me so well. It has kept me from “taking sides.” It has given me the ability to remain neutral in a way I was never able to in the past. And I believe this helps me to stay in a loving space overall.

I remember in a session with you long ago, you told me the story of a man who chose to come back to this human experience as a homeless person. He had his reasons. Those who allowed him, on this human plane, to degenerate into homelessness were serving his highest good as part of the agreements they had made before coming into this experience.

And while I have forgotten the specifics and details of this story, I’m pretty sure the overall jist is true to what you were expressing to me. That very important concept, has served me well and I have held onto it as a very important lesson.

Not that we shouldn’t offer sincere kindness for those in need, but we should always be aware of our motivation, we should always look for what the person is willing to receive, and we should always ask that we be guided to act in the highest good for all. Thank you, Maren! My life is richer, healthier, and happier as a result of the work we did together.

Dear Cindra,

I remember our conversation years ago. It was when you went through the training program with me which is now my coaching program. Although your recollection of the story is a little vague, I really like your version a lot. It’s as pure as the one I shared with you originally.

Yes, I agree with you with what you have shared here that sometimes we believe we are giving love when what we (or others) are giving is actually self-serving. Perhaps we help someone who is struggling in their life.

We give them a hand up, but in truth, deep within our minds, maybe even at an unconscious level, we see them as beneath us. Perhaps, we see ourselves as above them because we have not made the same choices that brought them to this point. We believe we are better somehow because it appears our lives are “together” and theirs are not.

Perhaps there are those people who have done something in their lives that we believe we would never do and we judge them. We see ourselves as superior. We do not know what has brought them to this place and the balancing act being played out on so many more levels than we can understand. We do not see that our judgments are generated by the fear that we have it in us to be or do what they have. In truth, we are judging ourselves and projecting our guilt onto them. Thanks again, Cindra. I remember the original story and will share that soon.

Best, Maren Nelson
Minister of Mind/Body Healing
Life Breath Integrations
maren@marennelson.com

Something I’ve had the opportunity to learn through my work with clients in Connected Breathing and in my life is that a gift of love is never lost. This lesson hasn’t always been an easy one to fully understand.

The Breathwork I do can take people to a very deep emotional level. Most people have been taught to suppress emotions and when they begin to surface during sessions (or in their lives), some people get really scared. Many people will use anger to cover their fear.

Some of those people are so afraid, they are not willing to take responsibility for their fear, and they lash out. They will either make me or the process wrong and leave. I’ve had to learn not to take this personally no matter how adamant they are about it.

When I first started working with clients and this happened, this was difficult and disappointing for me. My intent was to create a space for healing to occur. In my heart, I was offering my love.

Over time I realized that when a person cannot receive my love because of their fear, the gift is never lost. God and our guides and Teachers will hold my offering until the person is ready to receive it whether it is ten minutes from now, ten years or ten lifetimes. I may never see the client or person I’ve been dealing with again, but somehow, somewhere my gift of love will be accepted.

Allow yourself to remember your passion during this Holiday Season.

Best, Maren Nelson
Minister of Mind/Body Healing
Life Breath Integrations
310-977-0044

I wanted to write this post in honor of my parents. My father passed away recently, and my mom made her transition back in March. It’s been an eventful year to say the least.

As children, our mother and father (or primary caretakers) were God and Goddess to us. They were the center of our universe. They were the key influence that taught us about the world through what they said and did or didn’t say or do.

Our parents indoctrinated us into their world. Their world was ours at least when we were young. We took on many of their beliefs and behaviors. Some of these were passed on consciously and some, unconsciously.

As we grew, we may have been taught or came to believe in a conditional or punishing God. Where did these beliefs come from? Were we taught this through the religion or the environment we grew up in?

If our parents loved us conditionally or punished us, we may have projected our beliefs about them onto our ideas and beliefs about God. Most people are not even aware they have done so.

I want to encourage you to examine your beliefs about God or a higher power if you have any at all. Perhaps you have chosen to believe there is no God. You may believe that if there is one, He/She is as judgmental and punishing as what you may have experienced from your parents while growing up. Perhaps you have turned your back on the God that you were raised to believe in.

You can choose to change your mind about what characteristics God has. You can choose a loving god, one that does not judge or punish. I believe that the term Love and God are synonymous. To me, Love is God. You can choose to make Him/Her your best friend. And always remember your passion.

Best, Maren Nelson
Minister of Mind/Body Healing
Life Breath Integrations
310-977-0044
maren@marennelson.com
www.marennelson.com

Question: Saw your post of my question – thank you! So are you saying that I should go into a meditation with the intention of reaching and being introduced to my spiritual guide/guides? I’m sure they are there! Thanks again – hope my questions are not bothersome to you but I know that you have been attracted to help direct me and lead me in my journey. ~Scott

Answer: I love your questions and I’m honored to share with you. Yes, going into a meditation with the intent of connecting with them is really all it takes and they’re there. There will be a process in learning how to differentiate what’s coming from you and your ego and what’s really coming from your guides. Ask for signs to help you know it’s them. Ask them to help you to know they are there for you. You will get your answers if you know how to look for them and how to read the metaphors. Spirit speaks to us visually and in metaphors all the time. There may be a sign by the side of the road or a song on the radio. Someone will say just the right thing to you at the right time. It’s an amazing experience as you learn to develop a relationship with them. I feel there is a team of guides and even the Ascended Masters working with me for my highest good. It really got rid of a deep loneliness inside me when I first began to really know they are with me.

Thanks again for your inquiry. Maren

Question: Maren, how do you make initial contact with your spiritual guides? I read your blog today and am very excited by it! I meditate once a day and sometimes talk to God and He gives me advice or encouragement, but I don’t think I have come into contact with a spiritual guide in the way you mention. ~Scott

Answer: Good question, Scott. I’m pretty irreverent when I communicate with my guides. Sometimes I hear them laughing at me. They get a kick out of me, and I know they know the deep love and gratitude I have for them. I think mostly it’s your intention. They are always there for us. It’s us that need to open to them. I connect with them anywhere at any time. Sometimes I’ll sit quietly for a moment to center myself and connect. It’s pretty simple actually. In my mind, I usually start with, “Hey, you guys!” Thanks for your question.

Best, Maren

I had gone through many experiences while growing up that made me believe in spirit guides through different things I had felt, seen, and heard, and even in dreams. In 1986 I began to consciously develop a relationship with them. I believed that by doing so, they could help me with my healing and in every area of my life. I was right.

I worked every day to learn to hear and feel them. I asked them to help me with this. I asked them to help me to learn to trust them and the information I was getting.

I asked them to help me to learn to differentiate what was coming from them versus my ego. This was tricky, and I still ask for help to this day to know when it’s them. I asked for signs to show me what was coming from them and help for me to see and understand the signs. My abilities grew stronger over time, and in 1994 they jumped to a whole new level.

I was living in Malibu and was doing breathwork. I had started my practice in 1987 and over time, had developed my own way of doing it beyond what I had been taught in my Practitioner/Teacher and Master Teacher certification programs.

One of the things I do is to invite in my clients and my spirit guides, Teachers and the Ascended Masters along with four of the Archangels: Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael into the sessions. The Ascended Masters consist of different masters who have lived on the planet such as Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Mary, and Quan Yin to name a few.

I can always feel the guides and Masters in the room in sessions and there have been many, many times when I have seen and heard them. They love to help with healing and they are really happy when someone begins to open up to them and to consciously work with them.

I would always ask for help from them during sessions, but I wouldn’t ask very much for help for me in my life. I had this crazy belief they must be too busy to help little, old me.

I went through a period when every day I could hear them say to me, “You’re not asking enough. You’re not asking enough.” I began to make sure I asked for help once a day. Again, I heard, “You’re not asking enough. You need to ask for help with everything”. Finally, when I trained myself to ask for help and guidance from them several times a day, I stopped hearing it. (They’re really good at helping me find something when I lose it.)

To this day there are times when I forget to ask for their help and guidance, but not often. When I do, as quickly as I can remember, I ask again. I even ask them to help me remember to ask for their help, and they do. I encourage you to develop a relationship with your guides and to ask for help with everything in your life. And you can ask your guides to help you remember your passion.

Best, Maren Nelson
Minister of Mind/Body Healing
Life Breath Integrations
310-977-0044

I want to talk about something that I feel very strongly about. Our judgments about other people (and ourselves) can affect their ability to correct their misperceptions about themselves. If they can’t shift their misperceptions, they can’t shift their behaviors and heal.

It’s important to separate the “sin” from the “sinner”. This is the difference between guilt and shame. Guilt tells us, “You did a bad thing”. Shame tells us, “You are bad”.

Do you know that the word “sin” is actually an old archery term that means to miss the mark? If you make a mis-take, you get to do it over until you get it right.

Yet, most of us have been taught that a sin should be judged and punished. This belief may be so strong that we believe in our hearts a sin is punishable by banishment and/or death.

Now, I know there is a catch with this…Sometimes some people are so programmed and entranced with their misperceptions that they will do almost anything to hold onto them even if they are unhappy, and they make the people around them unhappy as well.

To shift these beliefs can actually feel terrifying because this is what they know. At an unconscious level they think, “If I’m not this, who am I?” They have forgotten what they are is Love.

What could happen to the world if instead of severe punishment, we offered love? What if we were to come up with better ways of helping one another heal our minds and hearts?

Of course, there are those people who have deep psychological issues and would need more help. There are those who are locked so deeply into their misperceptions they are violent and abusive. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t take care of yourself when you’re around these people. I’m just saying I think there is a better way we can be in the world sharing this journey together.

I hope as I pass this information on and with the questions I’ve raised we can begin to see and experience each other and ourselves with more love and compassion. And as always, remember your passion.

Best, Maren Nelson
Minister of Mind/Body Healing
Life Breath Integrations
310-977-0044

I want to share with you something that I think will make a few of your heads spin, but I’ll go ahead anyway.

Everything in this world tells us that we are separated from each other. Even (or I should say, especially) our bodies seem to prove that this is true. We see someone over there, we feel other people and things and our bodies tell us we are separate.

The ego is based on the belief in separation…separation from others, the world, God, and our true Selves. This belief is literally insane. If we were separate from all that is, we wouldn’t exist.

The ego tells us we must defend the body from attack. We believe we must attack others to defend ourselves, and they attack back. We see fear and suffering all around and we believe this is how the world just is. We do not realize this is the world we have created through our egos.

However, there is another way of seeing things. It is through the recognition of what we really are which is Love. The way to create this shift in perception is by retraining of the mind.

As long as we experience ourselves in this world, we will have an ego. However, as we heal our minds of the belief in separation, we don’t allow the ego to run the show. We put Love back into the driver’s seat. We allow simple acts of kindness to the world and to ourselves to guide us.

We are not alone in this process of healing the mind. We have assistance and guidance available to us who can help us in every moment of every day. All we need to do is remember to ask for help with everything.

I choose to call this guidance God which, to me, is synonymous with Love. You can choose whatever higher power you want that works for you. Or…you don’t have to believe any of this and can choose to believe whatever you want.

I believe the only choice we have is how long we choose to stay in fear and suffering. Why wait? You can choose love over fear now. And, of course, always remember your passion.

Maren Nelson
Minister of Mind/Body Healing
Life Breath Integrations
310-977-0044

I just wanted to make a short entry to say thank you to all of you for your supportive comments concerning my blog. The fact that I’ve just touched the surface with the information I’ve given you on emotional clearing and I’ve received such a positive response, has made me feel very excited about getting my book done so I can give you all much more in depth information, exercises and stories than what I’ve put in these posts.

I also want to reply to several comments that I’ve received from readers concerning their desire to donate to my blog. I have just recently added a “Donate” button through Paypal which you’ll find to the right of the pages if you wish to donate now. Perhaps this is how I’ll be able to get my book published is through your support. How ironic. I love it.

Some of you have asked what theme I use, etc. I use WordPress and yes, this theme is free. If you have any more questions and want a really great web guy, contact Martin Mancha at his website. He’s located in Los Angeles.

I will be putting up another post soon. I already know what I want to write about, and I think you’ll like it.

Maren Nelson
Minister of Mind/Body Healing
Life Breath Integrations
310-977-0044